Ralph Näf makes his way through a deep river crossing during the 2011 Absa Cape Epic. Photo: Karin Schermbrucker/Cape Epic/Sportzpics
The 2013 Cape Epic won’t be a neutral zone for Swiss friends Lukas Flückiger (29) and Ralph Näf (32) as they target a podium finish.
The 10th edition of the eight-day race starts on March 17 and will take riders over 698km, with more than 15 000m of climbing, from Meerendal in Durbanville to Lourensford in Somerset West.
Flückiger will line up for his fourth Cape Epic, having finished fourth overall in 2010. He also has four stage wins.
He was a silver medallist at the 2012 World Championships and a former junior world champion.
Näf will take part in his third Cape Epic and has two stage wins to his credit. He was the 2012 Eliminator world champion and an ex marathon world champ.
“I really like the spirit and the location of the race,” said Flückiger. “I like South Africa and its people.”
Riding with Näf for the first time, Flückiger said that they both saw the race as a great opportunity to start the season.
“We see it as fun and not only as a race. Both of us have participated before and know how to race over eight days. We’re really confident that we can win one, two or three stages.
“However, it’s hard to say what will happen in the GC. There are many strong teams this year, but our goal is to finish in the top three.”
“Lukas and I are good friends, hopefully also after the Epic, and we both have the same goals,” said Näf.
“We’ll have to see whether we’re a good combination, but we’ll have a lot of fun for sure and hopefully win a few stages and finish on the podium.”
